Lawrence Ben

Prior to his election to the Parliament of South Australia, Ben worked as a union official for the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), and as the acting political director of the New York City-based Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).^[5] He led the RWDSU's campaign efforts for the 2020 United States presidential election and the 2021 Georgia runoff election.^[6]

Ben studied a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at the University of Adelaide before going on to complete a Master of Arts at City University of New York (CUNY). While at CUNY, Lawrence was a recipient of the USS Ernesto Malave Merit Scholarship and was a founding member of the CUNY SLU Student Union, serving as the inaugural treasurer.^[6][7]

He also served as the principal economic adviser to Premier Peter Malinauskas,^[8] with Malinauskas crediting Ben for playing an important role in saving the Whyalla Steelworks.^[9] He was also a research fellow at progressive policy thinktank The McKell Institute.^[6]

Ben has been involved in the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees in South Australia, serving as the secretary and committee member for The Association of Ukrainians in South Australia.^[10][11][1]